Pool Party

By this time it was about eight thirty. The stars were out, a bright crescent moon was high in the inky black sky, and everyone was...still at the party. Ever since Draco Malfoy slithered off on his way, that was the only subject anyone seemed to be interested in. But the one question that seemed to stump everyone, including Hermione, is what is in the back of that shop that Draco wasn't allowed in. Was it going to be a part of Lucius's stash of weapons, him being a Death Eater and all, or did it have something to do with Voldemort? Whatever the reason, no one could figure it out.

"I wish I knew what was back there. This is going to drive me insane!" Hermione whined.

"Be careful, Hermione. Don't think too hard. You might lose some brain cells," Parvati said sarcastically. Hermione glared daggers at her, and Parvati shrunk under her glare.

"Watch it, Parvati. I've had about enough of you and your "jokes" about my intelligence, and frankly I'm getting just a little tired of it. I mean, you've been doing it for six years. Shouldn't you be bored with it by now? Or have you picked over so many guys that you've decided to move on and harass me instead?" Hermione had her arms folded, fire in her eyes.

Ginny, Ron, Harry, and Parvati's eyes all went wide. Everyone knew that Parvati wished she were smart like Hermione and was always teasing her about it, but no one would guess that she would take it this far just to piss her off.

Parvati seemed at a loss for words. "Hermione, you-you know I would never do anything like that. I-I mean I was just kidding around-"

"Well next time think before you speak," Hermione said dangerously slow. Parvati looked like she was going to cry.

"Hermione, I-I don't know what to say. I'm really, really sorry. I don't mean to hurt your feelings all the time. I just . . ." Parvati trailed off. Tears formed in her eyes, and when she realized this, she jumped out of the pool and ran for the house, grabbing her towel on her way. When the glass door shut, Lavender swam up to Hermione.

"What the hell did you do?" Lavender practically yelled. She, too, jumped out of the pool and walked swiftly to the glass door, opening it, grabbing her towel, and walking inside, shutting the door. This time it was Hermione who seemed at a loss for words.

"What just happened here?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione.

"I don't know. I can't believe I just made Parvati cry. I don't know what came over me, though. One thing led to the next and before I knew what was happening, she had tears in her eyes and ran inside the house," Hermione said in a daze.

"Well, to be honest, 'Mione, you did come off as a little harsh," Ginny said timidly. "Parvati was only joking around, and you know that,"

"Sometimes I can't figure out if that girl is being serious or sarcastic. She's always teasing me about my grades, and how I'm the smartest witch at Hogwarts, and all this time I've ignored it like I do when Malfoy does it. But this time it just really got under my skin. I meant to tell her to stop, but it came out as mean and nasty, even though I didn't mean it," Hermione said. She looked at her friends. "What should I do?"

"You mean you're the smartest girl at school, possibly even the world, and you're telling us that you don't know what to do in this sort of situation?" Ron asked stumped.

"I've never really had to deal with making someone cry. Especially when I didn't mean to. I only know what to do when someone is fighting," she said, looking pointedly at Ron and then to Harry. Harry cleared his throat and Ron turned light pink.

"I think you should apologize to Parvati and tell her how you feel when she teases you. You're going to have to apologize to her sometime. You share a room at school, after all," Harry advised. Hermione sniffed.

"You're right, Harry. Why didn't I think of it? I'll go do that right now," Hermione lifted her feet from the pool and stood up. Ginny looked up toward her friend, and Harry noticed how beautiful her hair looked when the sun caught it just right. Ginny shielded her eyes from the last rays of the sun.

"Hermione, remember, don't take too long. You, Lavender, Parvati and me are supposed to do...something together. Remember?" Ginny asked.

"Oh believe me, Gin, I haven't forgotten. I'll be back in a moment," Hermione winked. "Don't start without me." She walked to the glass door, opened it, went inside, and Lavender came out just when Hermione was about to close it.

"Hey, Lavender. Don't forget about the thing that the four of us are supposed to do later on tonight," Ginny reminded her. Lavender blinked and looked confused for a minute before her face brightened, like a lightbulb had popped up right next to her head.

"Oh yeah! The. . . thing. Oh sure, I remember," Lavender said, grinning at Harry and Ron.

"Now just what have you four been plotting all day?" Harry demanded.

"See, Harry, that's the thing about secrets. You're not supposed to tell anyone or the secret's ruined. Believe me, you do not want this ruined." Ginny said, dunking her head under the water, wetting her hair, and then coming up for air.

"I hate it when you plot something. It always ends up being really awkward," Ron said, crossing his arms.

"Well, this time it won't be because we just planned it when Lavender and Parvati arrived. Besides, it'll be fun. And I think you and Harry will be intrigued," Ginny said, her and Lavender giggling madly. Harry and Ron looked at each other and shrugged.

"Oh, Ginny, I meant to ask you. Those CD's are Muggle CD's, aren't they?" Harry asked. Ginny nodded. "Where did you get them? I've heard a few of the songs whenever I could on my uncle's radio,"

"Dad's catalog. He lets us look for things occasionally. That's where we got the radio too, it plays all of the Muggle stations. Quite genius, really," Ginny answered simply.

"Wicked!" Harry said excitedly.

Ten minutes later, Hermione and Parvati stepped out of the house and onto the patio, both looking happy, and Parvati's tear stains were gone. Hermione looked at Parvati, Ginny and Lavender.

"Are you ready? Because I am and I can't wait to get started," Hermione whispered anxiously.

"I am. What about you two?" Parvati asked.

"I am," Lavender said.

"Me too. I have the song ready and everything," Ginny said, conjuring up her CD with her wand. She replaced the previous CD with the new one and turned her focus to her audience.

"Attention, everyone! Can I have your attention please?" Ginny shouted to the crowd. With no music playing, the guests turned to face Ginny and when all eyes were on her, she smiled. "Hermione, Lavender, Parvati and I have prepared a little something to liven this party up. Now we just learned this today, so sorry if we're a bit shaky with the words. Are you ready?" Ginny asked the crowd. The response was cheers and howls, the loudest from Ron and Harry. Ginny grinned and motioned to the other three girls to turn their backs to the crowd. Once done, Ginny turned and pressed the play button on the radio, slow beats escaping from the speaker.